Barrett jabs Walker on legal defense fund

Barrett, Walker make campaign stops in Rock County

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett said it's troubling that the governor has set up a legal defense fund into which he recently transferred $100,000.

Both Barrett and Gov. Scott Walker made campaign stops in Rock County on Wednesday ahead of next week's recall election.

The topic of Walker's legal defense fund came up during campaign stops in Janesville.

The fund is connected to an ongoing John Doe investigation in Milwaukee County that's connected to Walker's former aides and associates.

Walker has hired two criminal attorneys to represent him, but he has previously said he does not believe he is the target of any investigation.

According to campaign filings Tuesday, Walker moved $70,000 on May 3 and $30,000 on May 17 to his legal defense fund.

At a campaign stop in Janesville, Barrett said he will restore truth and integrity to the governor's office.

A full house of supporters welcomed him to his campaign headquarters in Janesville. Barrett then led a group of supporters to the municipal building so they could vote early.

"I think that's troubling to the people in this state that their governor is under a cloud. You have an embattled governor who's under a legal cloud who has spent tens of thousands of dollars for criminal defense attorneys. There's something wrong there," Barrett said.

Barrett said he wants Walker to explain who is paying for the defense fund.

By law, Walker must ask donors to shift money from the campaign to his legal fund, but he has refused to disclose which donors allowed him to do that.While touring Mid-State Equipment in Janesville, Walker responded to questions about why the legal fund is growing and what it's being used for.

"It's very clear for us, to be in a position to cooperate with the mountain of documents we have to be involved in, I don't think taxpayers want me spending my time as governor doing that. They want me spending my time helping the people of this state find jobs."

Both Walker and Barrett said job creation remains the focus of the recall campaign.

The two are scheduled to debate one more time Thursday night.

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